More charges filed against suspected local scam artist
Lang
2/23/19
More charges have been filed against a Coralville man accused of scamming local residents on multiple occasions.
36-year-old Erhan Kraina of 19th Avenue was initially booked into the Johnson County Jail on a 5th Degree Theft charge just after 10:45 Thursday night for allegedly bilking a woman out of $150. If convicted on that charge, he could be sentenced to up to 30 days in jail.
Police have since charged Kraina in relation to two more incidents. One is a 2nd Degree Theft charge for an incident that took place on February 16th at the Old Capitol Town Center. Police say Kraina requested money from the alleged victim to fix his car. The subject initially gave Kraina $700, but Kraina requested more and the alleged victim gave him an additional $400. Kraina never paid the victim back.
Another incident took place on 3rd Avenue in Iowa City on February 14th, and involves a charge of 4th Degree Theft. Kraina allegedly told the victim he locked his keys in his car and needed $400 for a locksmith. Again, the victim gave Kraina the money and was never paid back.
Kraina later admitted he didn’t own a car, he had no intention of paying the victims back and he used the money to buy narcotics.
If convicted of the two latest incidents, Kraina faces an additional six years behind bars.
Kraina has been arrested multiple times for similar scams around the area, and faces more serious charges after he allegedly asked a man for a ride in Iowa City on July 21, 2018, then forced that man to drive him around the Iowa City and Cedar Rapids areas to deliver drugs.
In that incident, police say Kraina displayed a handgun to the man but eventually paid him $200 for driving him around.
Kraina faces charges of 1st Degree Robbery and False Imprisonment in that incident and could be sentenced to up to 26 years in prison if convicted on both charges. He’s pleaded not guilty. Trial is currently set to begin March 12.
Kraina has also been the subject of multiple posts on social media warning about him asking for rides in Iowa City and Coralville, either offering to pay for them or asking for cash, with many saying he uses the same story of needing to get his car out of impound.